


Sleuth by K9

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 04:55:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/794174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim is being secretive and Blair needs to find out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleuth by K9

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Sencrit for invaluable help on this one. And thanks to Eileen who bullied me into starting writing slash in the first place.

## Sleuth

by K9

Author's webpage: <http://lyrade.future.easyspace.com>

Author's disclaimer: They don't belong to me, they belong to Petfly. I just took them out of their box, played with them for a while, then put them back, a little dishevelled but none the worse for wear.

* * *

Sleuth  
by K9 

Blair Sandburg waited patiently at the stop sign. He was incredibly tired and _so_ late finishing. He had what felt like a thousand papers to grade tonight, before he could even begin to consider luxuries like eating and sleeping. Oh hell, and then there was that work on Professor Thorpe's book to set out. 

"Oh shit!" Blair said aloud. In his mind he could see the book sitting on his desk, in his office, back at the University. He slapped his hand against his forehead, "Idiot!" he hissed. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw a familiar truck race past. "Jim?" his eyes followed the vehicle until suddenly a horn blasted from behind him. Glancing through his mirror angrily, he saw a Neanderthal in a Dodge gesturing to him. "Yeah, an' you too," he grumbled, turning at the next junction and heading back for the University. 

A few minutes later, after stumbling over a pile of books he'd left stacked just inside the door, Blair swept up Professor Thorpe's 'Theory of Ancient cultures', tucked it under his arm, and began to fumble with the keys to the door. The building was _so_ eerily quiet this time of night, he noted, glancing around him. 

"Okay, Sandburg, what else did you forget?" he said aloud, pondering for a moment before setting off. 

Dragging his feet a little as he walked down the University steps, Blair took a moment to wave goodbye to the janitor, who was fixing a vandalised lock on the science block door. The guy was a prince. He almost _never_ freaked when he saw the state of Blair's office, and he knew all the gossip on campus almost before it happened. As Blair turned towards the student parking lot, having been too lazy to go around the back onto the staff lot, he saw a familiar figure in the distance. 

"Jim?" he called. When there was no response, he yelled "JIM?" Then he chastised himself for being an idiot. The guy was a Sentinel, if it _was_ him, he wouldn't need Blair shouting to gain his attention. By now the man had disappeared around the back of the building, not even glancing in his direction.  <Can't be him,>Blair thought, Jim was on a stakeout with Rafe and Brown. He'd said that it was just a boring 'photograph anyone coming or going from the building' job, that didn't really need Blair to be there, especially since he was so busy and tired. And if Jim had been here looking for him, he would have answered when called. But that _did_ look like his truck earlier. Allowing his curiosity to get the better of him, Blair walked to the corner and peered into the darkness- no sign of anyone. Hell, it was time he went home, he was beginning to hallucinate. 

Blair worked well into the night, until his eyes weighed heavily, and consciousness finally betrayed him. He remembered nothing of the slippery transition he'd made from a waking state to a sleeping one. What he did know was that the next morning came alarmingly quickly. 

"Hey, Sandburg, want any breakfast?" Jim's booming voice caused Blair to sit up far too quickly. His eyes refused to focus and his head spun. 

"What?" he mumbled, glancing down at the sofa and blanket wrapped around him. "What am I doing on the sofa?" 

"When I got back last night you were out cold. I tried to wake you, to tell you to go to bed, but you didn't want to know. You have some pretty offensive language stored in that fuzzy little head of yours," Jim grinned. Blair looked up at him groggily, trying to focus on the angles of the face that peered down at him. "Anyway, in the end, I gave up. Pulled off your shoes, tucked up your feet and threw a blanket over you. Now, _do_ you want breakfast? " 

"Juice." Blair said slowly, his mouth not yet fully connected to his brain. 

"Come on, Sandburg. Shower first, wake you up," Jim suggested. Blair nodded and rose to his feet unsteadily, dragging the covering with him. As he passed, Jim grasped the blanket, swinging it up off the floor and pulling it from around Blair's waist, the force of the pull jerked the younger man backwards. Jim stepped forward quickly and Blair merely bounced off Jim's chest with a resounding "Ugh." 

"Don't forget to take off your clothes," he smiled as the swaying figure continued his journey. Blair merely nodded once more. 

The exercise of actually removing a T-shirt and sweats felt like unravelling the mysteries of the universe. Blair could not get a grip on the cord that held up his pants, then he discovered an immovable knot, which proved far too taxing on the Sandburg brain this morning. Giving in, he pulled the pants down, squeezing them across his hips painfully. Stepping into the shower, he turned on the water, so warm, so strangely comforting, like being drowned in honey. The water felt like fingers running through his hair, stroking their way gently down his back. Large, masculine fingers, Blair thought warmly, sensitive fingers- like those belonging to a Sentinel, maybe? The half-dream was so vivid he could almost feel skin brushing skin. Blair groaned as the thoughts threatened to overcome him in this delicious dream state somewhere between fantasy and reality. The cold blast of water suddenly hit Blair so hard, it felt like a slap across the face, not to mention the other, more delicate parts of his anatomy. He sucked in a breath so hard that it hurt his chest. His body seemed to implode. He opened his eyes to see a muscular arm withdrawing through the curtain. 

"Y.....you..b..b..astard....Ellison!" he gasped. A throaty laugh echoed around the room. 

"Breakfast's ready, Chief." Jim's voice called. Blair began to swear at him in as many native tongues as he could remember. He heard the older man laugh even louder "See, there's that language again. What would your mother say?" Blair knew that Jim didn't understand what he was saying, but felt that if he instilled the words with enough passion, Jim would get the point. 

When Blair finally made his way to the breakfast table, Jim was already halfway through his meal. 

"Would have waited for you, Chief, but some of us have to work today," he smiled. 

Blair shivered as he sat down, his hair still damp and his skin clammy and cold. "I thought you were working until late last night? They can't expect you to do twenty four hour shifts," he said teeth chattering. 

"Yeah, well, you know police work. Never nine to five." 

"Talking about police work, were you at the University last night?" Blair asked tentatively, lifting the glass of juice to his lips. 

"No." Jim said a little too quickly. 

Blair looked up at him in puzzlement. "It's just that I had to go back for a book, and I was _sure_ it was you I saw there." 

"Not me, Chief. Must have been some other stunningly good looking guy." Jim gave him his 'I'm changing the subject' smile. 

"Yeah, man. Cascade's _full_ of guys that look like you!" Blair said, with more than a hint of sarcasm. "Thank god, they don't have your ego though." 

Jim grinned. Stuffing the last piece of his toast into his mouth, he leaned over and pinched Blair's face. "Hey, look. You got some colour coming back into your cheeks!" he smiled. 

The younger man pulled away. "Screw you, man," he grumbled. 

Jim grabbed his jacket and fished his keys from the basket. "You should never offer what you're not willing to pay up, Chief," Jim grinned at his young partner's reaction. "Catch you later." Blair watched the door close. He could feel the heat coming from his face. He hated it when he blushed in front of Jim, and over something so stupid. Burying his head in his hands he groaned. "Why do I let him do this to me?" 

* * *

Later that day, sitting in his office, Blair glanced around at the mess. His 'office'; okay, it was a cupboard, looked like a bomb-site. Closing the folder that lay open on his desk, he sighed - he really needed to get himself organised one of these days. The files in front of him seemed to grow and take on a life of their own. He was finding it impossible to concentrate. His mind was still impossibly fuzzy after so little sleep, and despite his rude awakening in the shower. His thoughts insisted on drifting back to the guy he saw in the University grounds last night. He was _so_ damn sure it was Jim. Joking aside, there weren't many guys who looked like Jim Ellison, in Cascade. Hell, there weren't many men who looked like Jim Ellison, _period_. One was enough for Blair, one Sentinel of the great city, and the only man who really mattered to Blair Sandburg- hopelessly devoted friend, guide and love struck partner. Blair rested his head against the bookshelf behind him, sleep threatening to overcome him at any moment. With the sleep came the dreams, the dreams of his closest friend and himself, and occasionally a large tub of chocolate ice cream. Blair smiled to himself. Thank God, he only had to record the Sentinel's dreams for his dissertation, and not the guides. Once again he recalled the previous evening. If Jim was lurking around the University last night why did he deny it this morning? The thoughts raced through Blair's mind, nagging and needling. Jim had been pretty insistent that Blair not help him on this stake out. Maybe it was time to put all of that police observer experience to practice, and do a little 'staking out' himself. 

* * *

It was six p.m when Blair finally decided to give up on the day. He was achieving nothing in this hazy half-dream state, and figured that going home and catching up on some sleep was the best option. He opened the front door of the loft wearily. As he stepped through, he heard the unmistakable sound of his roommate in the shower. 

"Jim?" he called. 

"Hey, Chief, "Jim called through the sound of running water. 

"What are you doing back so early?" Blair asked. 

"Ah, I had to come back, grab a shower and some fresh clothes," Jim said, wandering into the living room clad only in a white fluffy towel, dripping water all over the floor. 

Blair regarded his partner with barely restrained lust. The rivulets of water stiill ran down that beautifully defined body, and muscles glazed with moisture shone in the fading light. A sigh caught in Blair's throat as he tried to recall the conversation they were having before his hormones kicked in and his brain melted. "What, all this trouble just to go back on a stake out?" he said. 

"You should try spending a whole day sitting with sweaty cops in a building that has no working air conditioning." 

"Again?" 

"Yes, again." Jim grumbled. "I just had to get back and freshen up, it's been sending my senses crazy." 

"You're okay though?" Blair said with concern. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." 

"Maybe I should come with you tonight, just in case?" 

"Nah, no need. I'll be okay, I know you've got a lot of work to do. Don't worry about me, Chief. I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself." Jim slapped Blair's face almost tenderly. Blair attempted a weak smile. Something _definitely_ wasn't right. 

* * *

Blair stood in the doorway of the University main building. From here he had the best view of both parking lots, so anyone arriving would have to pass him. Pulling back into the darkness he watched two women walk by, oblivious to his presence.  <Man, I feel like a stalker!> he thought with a smile, as visions of being arrested and dragged off downtown floated into his mind. Well, at least that would give the guys in Major Crimes something _else_ to talk about. He smiled to himself as he recalled the times that he and Jim had walked into the bullpen, only for the conversation to stop immediately.  < How come Jim _never_ seems to notice that? > he thought. Leaning out to take a better look, he checked his watch with a growing sense of unease. Why did he feel like the bad guy in one of those old spy movies, the one who lurks in the shadows and always gets shot first? That, or a jealous lover. Blair mentally shook himself for that last thought. It had _nothing_ to do with jealousy. He was merely curious, and if Jim hadn't been acting so strangely, he would have never thought any more about it.  <Come on, Jim,> Blair thought irritably, <If you *don't* turn up soon, I'm going home. _Then_ I'm going to arrange myself some therapy sessions. > If this was a wild goose chase, he would be pretty damned angry with himself, wasting an evening that could have been put to better use, but the nagging voice in his head would not go away. He needed to know if there really was a mystery here, or whether he was just spending _way_ too much time with paranoid cops. 

Minutes seemed like hours. This stalking business was boring, Blair decided, he couldn't understand how it had caught on.  <What could Jim be doing here anyway?> he wondered. <Why would he want to come to the University, at this time of night, and not tell me?> Jim's evasiveness had definitely captured Blair's always vivid imagination. <What if he's in some kind of trouble?> he thought letting his darkest thoughts surface,<What if he's on a _really_ dangerous undercover operation, and he's not telling me to protect me? > Blair panicked <Oh, sure, at Ranier, the 'hotbed' of violent crime in Cascade!> he grinned to himself, allowing his common sense to kick in once again.<Maybe he's meeting a woman?> That particular thought seemed to depress him. <Maybe it's Professor Laine with her twelve chins and beard.> Blair grinned to himself suddenly, as he developed a mental picture of this unlikely union. At that moment, he heard footsteps. Keeping downwind and as quiet as he could, he watched the figure walk from the shadows. Even before he could define features, he could see that the man was over six feet tall with a muscular build. Then slowly the figure came into the glow thrown from one of the campus security lights. Unmistakably, unequivocally, James Ellison. Blair pulled back into the shadows. He knew he couldn't risk following Jim any closerthis was one of the drawbacks of having a partner who was a Sentinel. But even if he had to search the building room by room, and even if it took him all night, he would put this mystery to bed before the night was out. That last thought had a strangely erotic effect on Blair Sandburg, filling his thoughts with images of a gloriously unclothed and willing Jim Ellison, inviting his Guide to 'tuck him in' for the night. It took Blair a few moments to shake that particular fantasy from his thoughts. <Get a grip, Sandburg,> he thought, <this is a stakeout, remember.>

So much of the campus was unused at this time of night, but it was pretty vast, and Jim could have gone anywhere. After an exhaustive search and by a process of elimination, there were only a couple of options left to try. The gymnasium was in use, but it was a ladies-only aerobics session, and not one of them had resembled Jim in the slightest. Then there was the Art block. Wandering through the passageways, the smell of oil paint and turpentine threatening to overpower him, Blair peered into empty room after empty room. This was the problem with art classes, always so damn quiet. Suddenly he heard sounds coming from the end of the corridor. Moving quietly along the passage, he peered into the room warily. The sight that greeted him left him speechless. He stood blinking, unable to believe what his eyes were seeing. James Ellison, Cascade PD, 'bad ass' cop, stark naked and sitting in front of twelve people. 

"Look at his extensors!" a young woman whispered to her companion, trying to sound professional. 

"He has pectoral's to die for," the companion sighed 

"And such a cute butt!" the first girl giggled. 

Blair stared as the young women strained their necks for a better view. This was _way_ more than he'd imagined, beyond unreal, this was the 'twilight zone'. He suddenly found himself grabbed by the shoulder and spun around. 

"Oh, Mr. Sandburg?" Joe the janitor said in surprise. "I thought you were a peeping tom. I've been told to keep a look out for perverts hanging around the art block, you know!" 

Blair felt himself blush furiously. "No, I was.. er.. just looking for someone." 

"Right. Yeah, they usually have a woman model." Joe nudged Blair knowingly. "But tonight it's just some muscle-bound knuckle head. They probably found him in some gym downtown. You know the type? All muscle, no brains?" 

"Gotcha!" Blair winked. He smiled at the envy dripping from the old man's voice and almost hurt himself stifling a laugh. 

"Look at 'em." Joe shook his head ruefully. " You'd think young women their age would have better things to do with their evenings than sit here staring at some naked guy." 

Blair bit his lip as the laugh screamed its way into his throat. He nodded severely, in total agreement at the wicked waste of an evening. An evening spent staring at Jim Ellison naked. Joe was right, there probably were better things to do out there than this, but right at this moment, he couldn't think of any. 

"Okay, people. Class dismissed. See you all next week. Thank you to Jim, once again, for stepping in and modelling for us." The tutor smiled. 

Blair saw Jim nod to the young women as they filed past him, each thanking him and blatantly flirting at the same time. Blair's 'nobler' self told him to slip away, go home and say nothing. Save his partner the embarrassment and prove that he, the educated and intelligent anthropologist, could rise above mere taunting and teasing. The pissed-off, cold-showered side of him, however, said'Screw that, I want my pound of flesh. If the roles were reversed? Jim wouldn't let up for a month.' 

He watched from the door as Jim pulled on the robe and spoke to the tutor. She kissed him lightly on the cheek, expressing her gratitude for his kindness and for sacrificing his spare time. 

<Yeah, right!> Blair snorted derisively. <Kindness and sacrifice, my ass.> He watched carefully, wanting to savour this moment, as Jim turned around, spotting him standing in the doorway. If God himself had stepped down from heaven and smacked him in the face, he couldn't possibly have looked more shocked. The colour drained from him, as the smiling face of his best friend, partner and Guide, regarded him keenly from the doorway. 

"Sandburg?" he said weakly, as though hoping beyond hope that he was mistaken. 

"Hey, Jim. How's the stakeout? Chilly?" Blair stood, hands shoved in pockets. He could feel an impossibly smug expression spreading across his face. 

"What are you doing here?" Jim asked, trying to push past him without making eye contact. 

"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing." Blair said, skipping after him as he tried to escape into the changing room. "Where are Rafe and Brown? Man, this must be some stakeout! Where do you hide your surveillance equipment? Or maybe I shouldn't ask." Blair was on a roll. "Don't tell me, you're undercover? What a disguise!" 

"Just shove it, Sandburg," Jim grouched. 

"I know, one of those cuties is really a Columbian drug lord, and you were just kinda, sussing them out." Blair gestured, his hands spread wide. 

Jim wheeled around. "Look, not that it's any of your business," he took a deep breath. " It's a favour I owed someone, okay?" 

"A favour? What the hell did they do for you, for you to owe them _this_?" Blair gasped, his eyes shining with glee. 

Jim's jaw muscle jumped involuntarily. "It was Trisha, from the evidence locker." 

"What? She said she wanted your body, and _this_ is what she meant?" Blair dissolved into a fit of the giggles. 

Jim glared, face flushed, Blair _almost_ felt sorry for him, but not quite. "No." he said quietly, "Remember the other week, when we needed that evidence for me to 'check out'? And we didn't exactly have the right paperwork?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Well, Trisha 'bent' the rules a little for me. I said I owed her one." Jim explained. Blair set off in another spasm of giggles. "Her daughter is the tutor here, and their model let them down at the last minute, so..." 

"So you took your clothes off in front of all these people?" 

"They're not people, Sandburg. They're artists!" Jim tried to explain but the comment merely set Blair off again. Jim growled angrily at his partner, "You're impossible sometimes." 

"So, er, how long you gotta do this for?" Blair asked. 

"Well, they need a figure study for their final assessment in two weeks, so just until the end of the course." 

"Which is?" 

"Another six sessions." 

"Six? What's taking 'em so long?" Blair sniggered. "Anything in particular?" Jim shot him a frosty look. For the first time that Blair could remember, Jim actually looked embarrassed. The younger man relented slightly. "Okay, sorry. But what I want to know is, why didn't you just tell me what you were doing?" 

"If you really have to ask that, Sandburg, then you are *way * dumber than I ever gave you credit for." Jim said, turning his back before disrobing and pulling on his pants. "I think your reaction tonight is all the explanation you need. I'm just surprised you didn't bring the rest of the Precinct with you to share in my humiliation." 

"Hey, I asked. They were busy. But I told 'em I'd take pictures." Blair said. 

Jim turned slowly to find his partners grinning face. "You didn't?" he said unsurely. 

"No!" the younger man snickered. Blair ran his fingers through his hair, trying not to watch his partner dress. "Hey, Jim, come on, man. I'm just teasing! It was a shock, that's all, I just didn't expect someone like you to be comfortable doing this." 

"Why not?" Jim asked seriously "You think I'm so uptight and repressed that I couldn't feel comfortable enough with myself to do _this_?" 

"I didn't say that," Blair said. 

"You implied it." 

"Then I'm sorry." Blair looked into his Sentinel's eyes- he could see genuine hurt there. "I would never say or do anything that I thought might hurt you." Jim's surprised expression made Blair step back. He hadn't realised how close he'd moved until he noticed that he could feel Jim's body heat. 

"No Chief, I'm the one who should be saying sorry, I'm guess I'm being a jerk. I just thought that no one would ever find out about this. Of course, I forgot that I had such a _nosey_ little buddy. If it was the other way around, I'd probably give _you_ hell," he smiled widely. 

Blair melted into a helpless puddle on the floor. "Yeah, my thoughts exactly," he replied. "and not so much of the 'little'." 

"What made you follow me, anyway?" Jim asked, "Because, we're going to hhave to _discuss_ you tailinga police officer, you know?" 

"Man, you were acting _so_ secretive," Blair replied with a sly smile, "It just piqued my naturally curious nature." 

"Yeah, well, that's not all that's gonna get 'piqued' if I find you tailing me again, Chief." Jim said looming over the smaller man. 

"What I want to know, is why it was so _easy_ to follow a Sentinel?" Blair asked, prodding Jim's chest with his finger. 

"Er...I don't know, maybe I'm just so used to having you around, that I don't notice your scent or sounds anymore unless I search for them?" 

"You mean, kinda like that pair of old socks that you know you've worn _one_ too many times, and even though _you_ can't smell them, the rest of the world can?" the young man asked. 

Jim's face broke into a grin. "Couldn't have said it better myself, Chief. But, you're not just any plain old sock to me." 

"No?" Blair said, for some reason vividly remembering where he used to put a spare pair of socks when he was younger,...just to impress the girls. 

"No. Definitely the deluxe mohair type." 

"Ugh, they make your feet itch," Blair grimaced. 

"Yeah, I know. They are a constant irritation, but they do keep you warm on cold winter nights." 

Blair swallowed hard, the good humour seemed to have suddenly been replaced by something very different. "Oh," he said through a tight throat. 

"Look, how about we grab some beers and head home?" Jim suggested, with a smile. 

Blair smiled back, "Sounds good." 

* * *

"So, Jim." Blair began. He and his partner sat on either end of the sofa, a few beers had lifted the mood a little, and Blair was about ready for a little more needling. "Come on, you can tell me, what was running through your mind the first time you slipped that robe off in front of all those _young_ girls?" 

"Police reports." 

"Police reports?" 

"Yup. Can you think of anything _more_ boring?" Jim grinned. 

Blair gave a snigger. "Something to keep 'Mr. Happy' unhappy, huh?" he laughed. "Man, you have more nerve than me, I can tell ya!" 

"Why?" 

"There is no way you would find me doing that. No way!" Blair stressed shuddering at the thought. 

"You shock me, Sandburg. I'd have thought with your new age, flower child philosophy, you would have been pretty comfortable with the whole concept." Jim teased. 

Blair shook his head violently, his mouth full of beer. "Oh no, not for me. There's no way _this_ body is being paraded in public!" 

"Why, what's wrong with it?" Jim said, suddenly serious. 

Blair glanced up to see his friend studying him, genuine puzzlement on his face. "Oh come on, man," The younger man felt himself blush, "It's okay for you, look at you." Blair suddenly felt very uncomfortable with the way this conversation was heading. He knew he was about to embarrass himself, or worse, give himself away. 

"So we're different body types, so what?" 

"Yeah, well, that muscular 'missing link' look is _in_ this year, haven't you heard?" Blair tried to joke. He heard Jim give a gentle laugh. The soft sound coursed through Blair's body like electricity 

"There's nothing wrong with you, Sandburg, you have a great body, you're very attractive." Jim said suddenly. 

Blair's shocked face turned up to towards him. "What?" Blair said. For the first time in his life, he was at a loss for words, and judging by his partner's mortified expression, and rapidly flushing face, so was Jim. It wasn't exactly _what_ Jim had said, but rather the way he'd said it. The two men merely looked at each other in stunned silence, both attempting to read the others expression. Finally, Jim swallowed hard and tried to speak. 

"Hey, I er.. sorry, really erm." 

"So, you didn't mean it then?" Blair half-joked, cursing himself for not just changing the subject. 

"Yes I meant it. I mean," Jim rubbed his hand brusquely across his face. "Blair, you _are_ attractive, I mean handsome... or good looking, whatever!" Jim looked away, letting out a breath. 

"Thanks," Blair gave a shy laugh. "My ego's back intact, it's okay." 

"It wasn't _for_ your ego, it's the truth." Jim replied quietly. Blair looked over at him quizzically. " I find you very attrac.." Jim stopped. "You're attractive. Just trust me on this, okay?" He never met his guide's eyes as he rose from the sofa. "I gotta get some sleep." 

"But, Jim?" Blair said, trying unsuccessfully to capture the older man's gaze. 

"G'night." Jim hurried away, taking the stairs two at a time. 

Blair still watched the space his partner had vacated, as if he could miraculously drag him back downstairs by doing so. Jim's words whirled around in his head. He had always been convinced that his partner could only possibly see him as a friend, guide and minor irritation. The thought that at some point, his best friend, his Sentinel, must have considered him on a more 'physical' basis, sent shivers of pure pleasure through Blair.

Glancing once more at the wooden staircase, the needier part of Blair Sandburg begged him to take those stairs _now_. Make Jim explain the meaning behind the words, and so many other subtle innuendoes recently thrown his way. But, as usual, Blair sat back and let the moment pass. Fear, cowardice, common sense, call it what you will, prevented him from making the decision that could possibly change his life forever.  <There'll be another time.> Blair thought. The day's events played through his mind as he made his way to his bedroom. He smiled to himself as he recalled the look on Jim's face when he saw Blair in the art room doorway, _that_ would live with the younger man for the rest of his life. Of course the sight of Jim naked would live on in his fantasies for even longer.  <Now I see why they were using such _big_ canvases, > Blair thought with an appreciative grin as he drifted into sleep. 

Finis 


End file.
